


Fellow Monster

by Rowdyjester



Category: OCs - Fandom, Organ harvesting - Fandom
Genre: Blood and Gore, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Language, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-21
Packaged: 2018-04-26 06:11:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4993285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowdyjester/pseuds/Rowdyjester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finally decided to make an origin type story of how McGuire and Zed met. There is some uncomfortable Donovan moments as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Murky

**Author's Note:**

> First time I've ever written for these characters so I'm really trying to flesh them out and feel them out. I want to finish this story but i have a hard time doing that, so let's see how this goes! feedback is always welcome.

               The heat of the Florida sun was magnified by the windows in the restaurant. McGuire sat in the booth opposite his sister and listened to her comment on their waiter’s vibrant orange Mohawk.

  “Did you see him?” Marion kicked him lightly to draw his attention from the window.

  McGuire scowled and propped his chin in his hand, “Yeah, I saw him. You can’t really miss him. I saw that hair before we even came in the restaurant.”

  Marion sighed and leaned back against the cracking purple vinyl of the booth. “You’re so distracted. I know it’s been a while since we’ve visited downtown, but it’s rude to stare.”

  McGuire frowned at the passing people, far too busy to notice the guy watching them. “They don’t notice me anyways. They’re so hooked into the neural net that they hardly even notice how hot it is outside.” It wasn’t a lie. Since the neural net had been released to the public, people rushed to get themselves hooked in.

  The neural net was a simple inner ear and eye piece that allowed one to have a hands-free phone experience. You could even surf the web if you wanted. They could hear and see everything without people listening in or seeing what they were doing on their glossy iPhone screens. People were more at ease watching porn in public, but just because it was a neural feed didn’t mean that the body responded differently to those sorts of stimulants. Unfortunately, only those with a good credit history or lots of cash could afford the thing. Marion’s jaw had dropped when the price for the set had been released.

  Marion smiled politely at the waiter when he stopped by to check up on them. Her smile dropped when she looked back at McGuire, “could you at least eat some of your fruit parfait? You’re sorta scrawny for someone your age.” She admitted.

  McGuire puffed out his cheeks and took a large scoop of the bland yogurt and fruit mixture, shoveling it into his mouth and forcing it down. “Maybe I would be more inclined to eat if you didn’t order this sort of stuff for me. I’d rather have corn beef hash.” He muttered.

  Marion frowned and ate her own egg white omelet.

  McGuire returned his gaze back out towards the window, watching a mod group shuffle by. The mod groups had been around for centuries, but with the advances in technology they mods had gotten more and more extreme. He’d once seen a couple at his college with their hands fused together in a tender grip. He really wondered how they went to the bathroom.

  An odd sight caught McGuire’s eye and he had to rub his tired eyes to make sure he wasn’t just seeing things. A muscular man strode by the window. He seemed off just by his black attire alone, the leather jacket and pants made McGuire sweat just at the thought of how hot it must be under all of that. However, that isn’t what caught his eyes. It was the lack of a human head that made him look twice. The body had a black cube for a head with a single bright green eye set into it. The cube floated above the body and four drops of jellified blood were suspended between the cube and the severed neck.

  McGuire had seen some intense modding before, but this was on a whole other level. This person shouldn’t even be alive. The man seemed preoccupied, fidgeting with the collar of his jacket. His single eye narrowed and darted around, on the watch for a possible pursuer.

  McGuire flapped his hand at his sister, eyes still fixed on the man. “Marion, do you see that?”

  His sister raised her brows, “cut that out, what is it?” She looked out the window, but the man had already escaped into the throng of people.

  McGuire looked at Marion in disbelief, “Did you really not see him? It was crazy; his head was an actual cube. It was floating right above his neck stump!”

  Marion gave him a look, “McGuire, quiet down. That’s rude, maybe you’ve just been staring so long your eyes dried out because you forgot to blink again.”

  McGuire tossed his hands in the air, “come on… seriously?”

  Marion shook her head and grabbed the bill off the table, “Come on, let’s go home. You’re acting ridiculous.” She said and walked to the register to pay.

  McGuire slid out of the booth and waited outside for his sister. He ran a hand through his pale blue locks, heaving an exasperated sigh. His eyes scanned the busy sidewalk, looking for the cube head bobbing among the sea of people. He stood on tippy toes, trying to peer over everyone’s heads. He spotted the cube coming out of a food mart and McGuire looked back inside the restaurant quickly, saw his sister talking with the Mohawk guy at the counter and decided to take off after the cube head. He would text Marion later if she started to worry.

  The cube guy continued on his walk, still looking mighty suspicious. The cube had purchased a loaf of bread that he had tucked under his arm like a football, probably squishing it in the process.

  McGuire trailed behind him, finally getting a better look at the guy. He was very tall; definitely over 6”5 and his shoulders were broad. The cube was a mountain of a man, his boots thudded heavily on the sidewalk.

  McGuire hurried to catch up with the cube’s stride, occasionally falling behind when he had to dance around a group of neural users.

  The cube turned a corner, heading off of the main street and towards one of the more dated neighborhoods. The lack of a crowd forced McGuire to hang back more and more. The cube turned down a narrow, overgrown side street. His posture seemed to relax once he had escaped the busy streets and McGuire thought he was finally in the clear.

  McGuire hurried to catch up with the cube and also turned down the side street. He felt his heart sink when the cube was nowhere in sight. He whirled around when he heard a heavy thud. He stared straight at the cube’s chest, forcing him to look up at the single glaring eye.

  “What the hell is wrong with you? Did you parent’s ever tell you not to follow suspicious looking strangers?” The cube snarled, green eye fixed on McGuire’s terrified face.

  “I… well, I was curious so, I followed you.” McGuire forced out, taking a hesitant step back to put space between them.

  “You think that it’s a good idea to follow monsters into dangerous parts of town, just because you’re curious? I could kill you right now and no would know who did it.” The cube rumbled angrily.

  McGuire felt sweat trickle down his back. The sun must be really bad today or he was just scared senseless. “How is that even possible? You’re really hard to miss in case you haven’t noticed.”

  The cube held up a hand, “No fingerprints, I technically don’t exist.” He said firmly and shouldered past McGuire. “Go home to your sister. I’m sure she’s worried about you.”

  McGuire gripped the cube by the back of his jacket, “Wait, how do you...”

  “Know that you have a sister? I saw you watching me in the café. I knew you would follow me, you just had that sort of expression on your face.” The cube said with a wave of his hand.

  “Zed, is that you?” A frail, female voice called out from one of the doorless entrances of the left building.

  The cube looked alert at that, “It’s me, I’ll be in soon.”

  McGuire frowned, a single brow arched. “Zed?”

  The cube turned on him, “what are you still doing here? Run off and don’t let me catch you coming back here or I will twist your neck like a pretzel. Understood?”

  An older woman stepped out of the doorway; she smiled at Zed and pat him on the back. “Leave the poor boy alone. Don’t threaten him, he can’t do any harm.”

  Zed held up a hand as if to speak, but lowered it when as if he had reconsidered.

  McGuire looked over the older woman. She didn’t seem as angry as Zed and she certainly didn’t look strong enough to twist his neck like a pretzel.

  The woman was dressed in muted earth tones, looking almost like a shriveled up tree. Her hair hung past her face in long silver strands and her smile was genuine. Her face was so wrinkled, her eyes could barely open. Her hands did not shake as McGuire would expect.

  She smiled her closed mouthed smile at McGuire, “Are you ok? I hope Zed didn’t frighten you too badly. He’s all bark really, a big softy.”

  McGuire shook his head, “No, I’m ok. I was just leaving actually… I don’t really want to intrude.”

  The woman tilted her head, “Well, you can come in if you’d like. Zed bought bread for some of my famous jams and I’d like to offer you some.” She extended a wrinkled hand, “I’m Georgia.”

  McGuire took her hand and shook it. It was a soft grip, her hand felt like worn leather. “McGuire.”

  Georgia turned and walked past Zed, taking the bread loaf from him. “Come in McGuire, Zed won’t hurt you.”

  McGuire slid past Zed, his green eye trained on him. He stood at the stoop of Georgia’s home, hesitant to step inside the dark room. He must have been standing there a while, because Zed gave an impatient grunt and pushed past him.

  McGuire followed after and squinted at the darkness. There were dim lights all around the large room. The room itself smelled sweet, like a mix of fruit. The room felt cozy and small with its low ceilings and shelves full of odd murky looking things.

  Georgia smiled at McGuire and shuffled into another room to slice and toast the bread.

  Zed had to hunch to be able to walk around, his head still brushed the ceiling every so often. He stomped to another room, a curtain falling behind him to cover the entrance.

  McGuire wandered into the kitchen, “So, what’s in that back room?”

  Georgia took the pieces of toast out of the toaster and stood on tip toe to grab a jar of red murk. “Oh, that’s just Zed’s room. He goes back there to get away from humans like you and I.”

  McGuire took a seat at the small kitchen table when it was offered to him. “What is Zed? Is he a human, a monster? How did a nice lady like you end up with a giant grumpy block head like him?”

  Georgia giggled, “You act like he was given to me and now I have no choice but to put up with him.” She shook her head. “No, I have been with Zed since the very beginning. He’s always been my partner and friend.” She smiled fondly, recalling a memory of past years. “Zed is… he’s complicated. His body is human, but his head isn’t.”

  McGuire nodded, that fact was obvious but he didn’t want to be rude. He gratefully took a piece of toast with its sweet smelling spread and devoured it. He didn’t realize he was so hungry after having his bland yogurt. The spread on top of it was a delicious peach jam. “Why do you have such a weird looking companion?”

  “Well, I made him myself after all. I admit there are somethings that I probably should have changed when I made him, but he’s loyal and usually very kind. Besides, I’m allergic to dogs and I don’t like how yappy they are.” Georgia shrugged and took a bite of her toast as well.

  McGuire wiped the crumbs from his face, “Made him? You can’t make people. That would be a Frankenstein’s monster type of thing.”

  Georgia’s small, dark eyes twinkled. “But you can. The future is full of possibilities; people just haven’t utilized the tools we have.”

  McGuire felt his skin crawl, something didn’t feel right. He started to notice the jars that he thought were once full of a dark liquid. The jars held things inside; living, moving things that pulsed and twitched. He began to make out eyes and livers in smaller jars among the jams. On the bottom shelves were larger jars containing lungs and hearts, even ropes of intestines. He could feel his stomach lurch as Georgia chuckled.

  “Relax McGuire; I don’t have any interest in harvesting your organs.” She mused and stood from her chair.

  “Harvesting organs? You deal with organ repossession?” McGuire asked, his mouth felt drier than the desert.

  Georgia smiled, “Not just anyone’s organs. I have a list to follow and then the organs that haven’t been paid for in full get repossessed. Like what bank does with cars or anything else of that nature.”

  McGuire stood as well, Georgia just coming to his shoulder. He could hardly imagine this old woman stealing organs for money on the black market. “So how does Zed come into play with all of this?”

  “Well, you can’t imagine an old woman like me stealing organs all by myself, can you? Zed is my muscle for when I go out on the job. I would send him alone, but his big fingers are a little too rough to be rooting around inside of somebody.”

  McGuire followed Georgia back to the living room, “What’s with all the jams then?”

  “A cover up of course, I don’t need the police following Zed here and the whole place reeks of formaldehyde.” She waved a dismissive hand.

  Zed emerged from his room, “What are you telling this guy now? I bet he’ll run home and squeal to his sister.” His jacket was missing, revealing a black shirt underneath. It seemed like his token color.

  McGuire frowned, “I’m not a squealer. If I have things my way, I’ll never see you again so I can forget that I met a couple of criminals.”

  Zed bristled at the comment, “Criminals? We’re not criminals; we do what we have to. Taking back organs that don’t belong to people isn’t bad work.”

  Georgia rolled her eyes, “come now, McGuire just doesn’t understand. We always avoid killing people. If the job requires taking back vital organs, well that’s the nature of the beast. They die whether we want them to or not.”

McGuire scowled, brows furrowed. “That’s sick… I don’t think I could ever do something that cruel or unnecessary.”

  Georgia sighed, “McGuire, I can teach you what it means to do organ repossession. I get through it by not making it a personal ordeal. I’m old and I can’t do it my longer. My hands are getting stiffer as time goes on. I can teach you and then you can go out on one job with Zed. He will keep you safe and show you how it’s all done.”

  Zed’s eye widened, “Are you serious? He’ll cry before even holding a scalpel.”

  Georgia chuckled, “That’s why I’ll give him a crash course on anatomy and organ repossession.” She turned to look at McGuire, “Well? Want to give it a go?”

  McGuire looked at Zed who always seemed to be constantly glaring, “I’ll try it once… If I don’t like it, then I won’t try it again. Besides, I heard repo men make good money.”

  Georgia grinned; a few of her teeth were gold and twinkled at McGuire. “Repo men make great money.”

  McGuire returned her smile, looking a little nervous. “Alright, I’ll take you up on your offer.” His phone buzzed in his vest pocket and he was quick to answer. “hello?”

  “McGuire! Where are you? I thought you had gone home before me and when I didn’t see you at home I thought you were at Donovan’s house. Then he didn’t know where you were and I got worried! You need to get home right away, you have college classes tomorrow. Don’t make me call the police.” Marion threatened; her voice trembled on the phone.

   McGuire hunched his shoulders. “I’m sorry; I’ll get home right away. I still have money for bus fare.” He lied.

   Marion was silent on the other line, “Good, hurry back. I get worried about you.” She finally said her voice barely above a whisper.

   McGuire frowned, “I’m sorry, I’ll be home soon. Please don’t call the police.”

   Georgia sat down softly on her couch, “alright, run on home. Your sister sounded worried” she said once McGuire had hung up.

   McGuire shoved his phone back in his pocket and nodded stiffly, “I’ll see you sometime tomorrow I guess. Do you need my phone number?”

   Georgia shook her head, “No, Zed will find you if necessary. Don’t worry about it.”

   McGuire looked back at Zed who stood silently by his room, “I’ll find you If I have to.” He muttered, arms crossed over his broad chest.

   McGuire left without a final word, wanting to leave before anything else weird was shoved in his face. How could he have said yes to harvesting organs? Was there something wrong in his head? Zed and Georgia were murderers. He stumbled up the steps to the porch of the home he shared with his sister.

   Marion waited in the living room, hopping to her feet when the door swung shut behind McGuire. She rushed over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders, “Jesus, are you ok McGuire? I can’t believe you ran off like that!” she said sternly, her face set into a mask of worry. “You used to do that as a kid but this is a first.” She shook her head and pulled him into a hug, resting her cheek on his head.

   McGuire frowned, “I’m fine, I thought I saw something is all.”

   Marion held him at arm’s length. “You can’t be running off after people whenever you think they look strange. It’s rude and ultimately dangerous. You know a lot of those modders are strange looking and strange acting.”

McGuire arched his brows and looked unimpressed. “That’s surprisingly narrow-minded of you.”

Marion released him and waved a hand, “that’s just what I’ve seen on the news and documentaries and such.” She wandered to the kitchen, “Come get some dinner before it gets even later. You have early college classes tomorrow.”

    McGuire went to the kitchen and sat at the table, clearing off some the mail and incomplete homework. Marion set a plate in front of him with a helping of leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes. He took the plate and went upstairs to his room, throwing a quick ‘thank you’ over his shoulder as he went.

     He set the plate on his bed and shrugged off his vest, hanging on one of his bed posts. He sighed and sat on the carpet beside his bed. He grabbed a textbook from the stack next to him and flipped open to where a couple loose leaf pages were keeping book mark. It was his sister’s old anatomy book. She had given it to him when he decided to take the class. He had found the topic to be boring and unnecessary. He didn’t even want to go in the medical field, but now that he had a few private lessons scheduled with Georgia it would be smart to at least read up a little bit.

      He took his plate off the bed and placed it on the stack of books beside him. He stabbed the potatoes distractedly as he tried to absorb the small text on the page. He narrowed his eyes and scowled, “This whole thing is so dry, does anyone actually enjoy this?” he flipped the book closed and leaned his head back against the bed. “This sucks.” He muttered and stuck a piece of meatloaf into his mouth.


	2. It's A Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donovan is a creep and Zed is maybe a little bit nicer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm hoping this story is starting to pick up a little bit. I'm actually really hoping to update this every Wednesday or so. Please tell me what you think of this chapter! Plus this chapter is just a little bit shorter, the next one should be longer!

A few hours went by until McGuire finally gave up and crawled into bed, stripping out of his clothes and kicking off his shoes. He slept through his alarm, subconsciously smacking the snooze button. When it went off again, McGuire sat up and turned off the alarm for good. He quickly got dressed and ran a brush through his hair while a toothbrush stuck out of his mouth. He grabbed his backpack, shoved in the books for the day and ran out of the house. He was already late to his first class; at least it was his least favorite of them all. He walked into the classroom silently once he’d arrived on campus and took his usual seat off to the side.

The teacher continued going over her notes, peering over the glasses on her nose. She scribbled a few things on the white board and set down her notes to pass out a quick quiz. Only ten questions and most of them were multiple choice.

McGuire sighed and tapped his mouth with his pen. “A geometry quiz this early just isn’t worth it.” He muttered and tried to understand what the questions were asking. Nothing seemed to make sense or stick with him. He circled the few answers he knew and then bull-shitted the rest. A failing grade for sure. He put his paper on the stack with the others as he left the room. He had a full hour before his next class.

“McGuire!” A voice called.

McGuire turned, immediately recognizing the voice. He smiled and waved over the dark haired boy who was making his way towards him. “Hey Donovan, what’re you doing at school so early?”  
Donovan smiled broadly, his black hair flipped up in its usual way. His scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, even in the Florida heat. His blue shirt was always worn over his long white undershirt. He couldn’t stand the cold, even in the summer he found some way to survive under the layers. 

“Where’d you run off to? Your sister called me two times yesterday just to double check that you weren’t at my house.” He said, catching up to walk beside McGuire.

“Nowhere really, I just followed some weird looking guy and got lost.” He couldn’t tell Donovan about the people he met. How could he even mention the lessons he would be taking later on?

Donovan frowned, “A weird looking guy? Why do you have to follow every weirdo you see?”

“I don’t follow every weirdo. He just looked so crazy I had to know a little bit about him.”

Donovan arched a brow, “Like where he lives?”

McGuire waved him off and frowned. “Don’t be stupid. I’m an adult; I know not to follow people all the way home.”

Donovan pouted, “Stupid? You’re in a bad mood today.”

McGuire smiled apologetically, “Sorry, I didn’t mean it. Well at least I don’t think I did.”

Donovan slung an arm over McGuire’s shoulders, “Come on, what’s bothering you? You can’t hide it from me.” His dark blue eyes glittered.

McGuire trudged to his next class under Donovan’s weight. “I’m not hiding anything, so you don’t have to give me a look like that.” He muttered.

“What look?” he mused, bouncing his black hair with a flick of his head. 

McGuire met Donovan’s eyes and narrowed them, “that one. The smug look that tries to prove that you’re sly but you’re also someone I can confide in. like a cat that rolls onto it’s back offering that soft fluffiness, then getting clawed at or bitten because you fell for the trap.”

Donovan raised brows, surprised. Even though McGuire could only see one eye, the other covered by the dark hair. He knew that Donovan looked mischievous. His grin grew wider. “A cat? I really don’t keep my intentions hidden. You know that better than anyone.” He ran his tongue over his teeth.

McGuire had known Donovan for years. They had been friends since they were in grade school. Donovan had always been the more charming and outgoing one that dragged McGuire around and introduced him to others. It had been that way since the beginning and even now that’s how they were. Donovan was also good at putting on a mask and fooling people with his sugary sweet smile and attitude. McGuire knew it was a façade. Donovan was much more sinister. He wasn’t afraid to manipulate and trick others, even McGuire. Despite all of this, he’d stuck around and put up with him.

McGuire looked at Donovan’s mouth and then to his scarf. He couldn’t look at him for long. It just felt wrong, like he hadn’t earned it. 

Donovan smirked and ran his hand through McGuire’s pale blue hair. “I’ve always been there for you. You know I’m a good friend.” 

McGuire scowled, pressing his mouth into his own vest. “Yeah, I know.” He muttered.

Donovan smiled broadly and closed his eyes. “Well, I’ll see you later. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t approve of.” He purred and bumped McGuire’s shoulder with his own before walking off.

McGuire felt his shoulders slump as he relaxed. Being around Donovan just drained him and it always caused him to stress throughout the day. He went to his next class, staring out the window or doodling in the margins of his notebook.

School ended soon after and he hurried back to Georgia’s. He texted Marion and told her he would be studying at the library.

Zed sat outside of Georgia’s. He sat on the ground playing solitaire, his jacket laid beside him on the steps leading to the door. He looked up when he sensed someone nearby. He looked surprised to see McGuire back. “I didn’t think you’d be back.”

“Well, I want to make money and I want to get this training over with.” McGuire jogged up and placed his hands on his waist. 

Zed jerked his thumb back towards the door, “She’s in there if you’re ready. I hope you have a strong stomach, because I’m not cleaning up your nasty human fluids.” 

McGuire frowned and stepped over Zed’s jacket to enter the house. “You seem nicer today than you were yesterday.”

Zed rolled his single eye, “Don’t get used to it.” He muttered.

McGuire set his bag down near the doorway as he walked into the sweet smelling house once again. The difference today was the body lying on a metal table in the middle of the living room.  
Georgia shuffled around, laying out instruments beside the body. She noticed McGuire standing stiffly by the door and smiled at him.

“Come over here so you can meet your first patient.” She beckoned him over.

McGuire forced his feet to move, “Is that person dead?”

Georgia nodded, “Oh yes, there’s no chance of this one waking up.” She pat the corpse’s bare chest.  
McGuire peered at the body and noticed that it was completely naked, despite a simple white sheet over its genitals. The body was female.

“Why are we going to be digging around inside of a woman first?” He asked. 

“Well, breasts can sometimes get in the way and it helps if you know how to handle them.” Georgia winked.

“Oh, I see. What are we taking out of her?”

“Well, we’ll go for what people usually request, which are livers or kidneys. Kidneys are the easiest because humans have two. We only take one in order to keep the patient alive.” Georgia explained, handing McGuire a pair of surgical gloves while she took a pair for herself.

McGuire slipped the gloves on and sighed, “So, are you going to show me first and then have me do it?”

Georgia tapped her chin, “well I was just going to walk you through it.”

McGuire trembled, “Really? If you really think that’s a good idea.”

Georgia smiled, “Let’s just open her up and look around. It’s good to get yourself familiar with a body.” She handed the scalpel to McGuire, who took it with trembling hands. 

He swallowed and slid the scalpel down her abdomen; blood pooled up and dripped down her stomach. McGuire froze and looked down at Georgia, “I thought she was dead.”

“Well, freshly dead. Only for about thirty minutes maybe.” 

McGuire looked down at the body and went to touch the skin, laying his hand on the body’s stomach. “I thought she would be all dried up.”

Georgia shook her head, almost looking confused. “No, this provides a more realistic experience.”

McGuire was hit by the pungent smell of blood, “this is disgusting... I can’t do this.” He muttered and stumbled away from the slab. His hands shook as he looked down at the blood stained gloves. “This is so sick; I can’t believe I agreed to this.” He tripped as he stepped off the last step leading down from the house. He went sprawling onto the dirt and closed his eyes against tears that threatened to spill over.

Zed glanced up at him and then back down to his game, “Couldn’t do it? I figured as much.” He said. 

McGuire thought he heard disappointment in his voice. “How could you just kill that person? Didn’t you ever think she had a family or something?”

Zed sighed and tossed down his cards, “I really don’t know what you want me to say. This is my job. What they were before I killed them doesn’t matter to me.”

McGuire looked at him, shocked. “How could you say that? You don’t have any sort of humanity, do you?”

Zed gave him a look, “I’m a monster, kid. I don’t care about much of anything.”

McGuire clenched his teeth, “I’m not a kid, I’m 22 and it pisses me off when you call me a kid.”

Zed gathered up his cards and grabbed his jacket, “I don’t care.”

McGuire peeled off the surgical gloves and tossed them on the ground, “I can’t do this. I really can’t. This just isn’t worth it.”

Zed stood and pulled his jacket on, “Oh well, I really didn’t think you could. I honestly thought you would last a lot longer in there.”

McGuire stepped back in the house momentarily to grab his bag. He shuffled his feet, kicking up dirt. “Did you kill her?”

Zed picked up the bloodied gloves and balled them up in his hands, “Yeah.”

“How?”

“Didn’t you the bruising around her neck? I strangled her to death. That’s how I get people to pass out too. It’s just something that I’m kinda good at.”

McGuire frowned, “I guess so.”

“Are you leaving?” Zed asked, green eye turned on McGuire.

He dug his nails into the flesh of his palms, “I don’t know. I’m a little curious.”

Zed shoved the dirtied gloves in his jeans pocket. “Well, make up your mind. I’m going on a pretty easy job in a few hours and Georgia is going to come unless you want to come.”

“What do you mean by easy?”

“I mean the spleen. Now are you coming or not? I’m losing patience.” Zed growled, causing McGuire to jump a little.

“Ok, I’ll go with you. As long as I have a reference of where the spleen is, what it looks like, and how to remove it without harming the person.” 

Zed stared at him, unblinking and sighed. “You’re really asking for a lot, but fine. I thing Georgia has something like that. Come inside until we have to leave. It’s not safe out here, there are monsters scarier than me.”

McGuire entered the house once again and sat on the couch that had been pushed back against the wall. 

Georgia smiled at him and placed a little tool kit beside him, “Here, I’ll get you a cooler before you leave and have Zed watch over it.”

McGuire nodded and pulled out his homework for the night. He might as well do some of it to make the lie he told Marion at least a little more believable.


	3. Choke him out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is a little more angsty and intense. I need to practice my gore writing so this was a good practice in itself.

Zed had gone to his bedroom. He stayed in there until it came time to leave. “Let’s go, It should be dark enough for us to get in and out unnoticed.” 

McGuire closed his math textbook he had been staring at for the past hour and shoved it in his book bag.

“Are you ready?” Zed asked while he shrugged on his leather jacket.

McGuire took a deep breath, “yeah, I think so. Let’s do this and get it over with.”

Zed snorted and took the cooler and ice pack from Georgia, “We should be back soon, I’ve got a house key so don’t wait up for us.”

Georgia smiled and waved him off, “Of course dear, be careful and take care of McGuire ok? No fighting and help him out some. If you can’t do the job, then it’s no problem, just come home.”

McGuire blushed with embarrassment over the special treatment Georgia was trying to give him.

Zed blinked once, turned on his heal, and left the house. “Come on McGuire.” He muttered.

McGuire followed after him, looking a lot like a little kid next to Zed’s hulking figure.

“So, who’s the guy we’re getting?” He asked, hair bouncing as he jogged to keep up with Zed’s wide stride.

Zed pulled a pocket notebook out of his inside jacket pocket and handed it to McGuire, “No one important, just a guy with no family and a few friends.”

McGuire flipped through the notebook, slowing his gait to a walk. The man didn’t look familiar, he was average looking and his short biography was average as well.

“He doesn’t look like much.”

“Well, he’s got a spleen in him worth $508 and someone wants it enough to pay us for that.” Zed said and took the notebook back.

“That’s seriously how much a spleen is worth?”

“Yeah, but that’s nothing. A single kidney is worth $262,000. That’s where the cash is.” Zed’s single eye gleamed. He stopped in front of an average looking house, probably owned by the average looking man with the average life.

“This is the place. So keep quiet and wait out here until I tell you that you can come in.” He instructed McGuire and handed him the cooler before sneaking off to the back of the house.

McGuire waited patiently for Zed to call for him. He felt awkward waiting outside of someone’s house in the middle of the night. He shifted from foot to foot, trying hear or see any sign of a struggle.

Zed opened the front door to the house, “Alright, come on in. Don’t touch anything other than the tools and organ you have to steal. If you feel like you need to touch it, then let me know and I’ll touch it for you. Got it?”

McGuire rolled his eyes, “Got it. Trust me, I’m not going to be molesting this guy’s belongings.” He followed Zed to where the man lay unconscious on the bedroom floor. His shirt was missing and he was laying on a plastic tarp to prevent blood from getting everywhere.

He knelt by the body and looked it over. Zed had even been gracious enough to draw an X to indicate where the spleen was. “Thanks for that.”

Zed shrugged, “No problem, now let’s move this along before the bastard wakes up.”

McGuire slipped on his purple medical gloves that Georgia had given him and picked up the scalpel. He took a shaky breath, willing his hand to be still. He could feel Zed looming over him and it made him uneasy. “Do you have to lurk like that? It makes me anxious.”

Zed took a step back, still watching him intently with his single gleaming optic. 

McGuire sliced into the man carefully, trying not to shiver at the warm blood that pooled up and spilled down his sides. Once he’d made an incision he felt was large enough to stick his hands in, he laid down the scalpel on the plastic sheet. He wiggled his fingers and finally stuck them inside of the man. He quickly retracted them and shook his head furiously. “No no no… I can’t do this; it’s all warm and squishy and- just disgusting!” 

Zed ran a hand over his face, “Are you kidding me? Just cut out his spleen. We don’t have time for this!” he hissed.

McGuire sat back on his haunches and shook his head, “Zed, I’m sorry. I just can’t do this. I thought I could, but I can’t.”

Zed threw his hands in the air; obviously pissed he’d brought him along. “We can’t leave without that spleen. We have people we’re going to sell that thing to later.”

McGuire crossed his arms, “You get it yourself, I’m not going to do it.”

Zed snarled, “Does it look like I can stick these fingers inside of that little incision? I don’t have baby hands like you do!” He held up his hands for emphasis.

McGuire huffed and turned his head away, “Not my problem, I’m done with this.”

Zed clenched his fists, making his knuckles crack. He was fully prepared to strangle the life out of McGuire’s bratty body, until the man who had previously been unconscious began to scream.

McGuire practically jumped out of his skin, “Zed! How do I make him shut up?” he shrieked out of fear of being caught.

Zed quickly dropped to his knees and began to throttle the man, squeezing as tightly as he could. This had never happened to him before and the patient suddenly waking up made him panic. Zed’s eye was big and wild, McGuire’s panic made him worry even more. The man eventually stopped screaming and clawing at Zed desperately. That had been minutes ago.

“Zed, he’s stopped screaming. You can let go.” McGuire insisted and pulled on Zed’s arm, feeling the tense muscle beneath the jacket.

Zed did not respond and the man’s face turned a deep shade of purple.

“Let go of him! You’re killing him!” McGuire pried at Zed’s fingers. His efforts were futile as the monster continued to squeeze every last breath out of the dying man.

McGuire reeled back and punched Zed square in the side of the head.

Zed whipped his head around to face McGuire. His eye was wide and unseeing. “What do you think you’re doing?”

McGuire gestured wildly at Zed’s hands, “Look at what you’re doing! You killed the guy! That’s not what we were supposed to come here to do!” 

Zed jerked his hands back as if he’d been burned. “Shit.” 

What he did next almost made McGuire upchuck everything from the past couple of weeks.

Zed stuck his hands into the man and ripped him the rest of the way open. His intestines spilled out of him, his rib cage doing a mediocre job of keeping everything in place. Blood splashed Zed, completely ruining his clothes. He didn’t mind and began to move ropes of intestines out of the way, not paying any mind to the organs that wouldn’t fetch a pretty price. He grabbed the cooler beside him and placed anything he found valuable in it. He heart, kidneys, liver and spleen were all put in the cooler and sealed away. The remaining guts flopped onto each other and smacked wetly onto the plastic sheeting beneath the body.  
Zed stood and grabbed McGuire, yanking him to his feet. He pulled him out of the house and down the street, sticking to the shadows and away from the main streets.

McGuire allowed himself to be dragged along, numb to what he’d just witnessed.

Zed slowed their pace when Georgia’s home was in sight. “Grab your bag and go home. Don’t come back here ever again.” He said softly. He stopped in front of the house and turned to McGuire. His eye was a dull green and he looked down tiredly at him. He peeled the bloodied gloves off of his hands and tossed them inside the house. He handed McGuire his backpack. “I hope that for your sake, we never see each other again.”

McGuire left without saying goodbye; he didn’t think he could ever look at Zed again. He had been afraid of him before, but now he was terrified. He went to Donovan’s house, he couldn’t think of anywhere to go and he knew his sister would be waiting up for him at home. Luckily for him, the lights were still on at Donovan’s house. He knocked and waited, looking down at himself to make sure he didn’t have any blood splattered on him.

Donovan answered the door his black hair was pulled away from his face with a headband, “McGuire, holy shit you look pale as hell. What happened? Come in here.” 

He grabbed his hands and pulled him in the house. He had McGuire drop his backpack and take off his vest. “Your sister is worried sick and so am I, to be honest. We had no idea where you were.” He had McGuire sit down and gave him a glass of water.

McGuire sipped the water. He wanted to tell Donovan everything. From the knowing someone in the black market to cutting into a living person and then watching them get ripped to shreds moments later. He opted to burst into tears instead, taking Donovan by surprise.

“Whoa! What’s going on McGuire? Talk to me, are you ok? Did something happen?” he sat beside McGuire and wrapped an arm around him, hugging him close.

McGuire shook his head, “Just- Some bad shit happened tonight and I’m a mess. Can I crash here? I don’t really want to face my sister right now.”

Donovan sat back some and nodded, “Yeah, of course man. I was going to invite you to do that anyways. I gotta text your sister that you’re here though. She needs to know so she’s not up all night worrying about you.” He insisted. 

McGuire took in a shaky breath, embarrassed that he’d broken down in front of his best friend. “Ok, thanks. Can I take a shower?”

Donovan was busy with his phone, “Yeah, the towels are in the closet next to the bathroom like usual. I’ll let you borrow some of my clothes, but try and be quiet. My sister is home for the weekend and she’s already asleep.”

McGuire set his glass down on the table beside the couch and went to the bathroom across the hall from Donovan’s room. He grabbed a towel from the bathroom closet and went to shower.

He stripped and tossed his clothes to the ground. He stepped into the shower, the water almost scalding. He wanted to feel as clean as possible. He scrubbed hard at his skin, making it red and raw. He scrubbed at his scalp, letting his nails dig into his head. He felt dirty and knew that no matter how hard he scrubbed, he couldn’t get all of the filth off. He rubbed his cheeks and shook his head, “I made such a mistake. God, I just want to die...” he muttered and rest his forehead against the cold tile of the shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sure hope it works out with Zed and McGuire! I hope i can write more later on, because this chapter is sort of short.


End file.
